Why is the vatican and the Pope losing it's power it once enjoyed in it's heyday?

Answer 1

If you believe this is true, then you have no idea what the real power behind the Vatican is.

Answer 2

Way back in 1324, two academics in Paris told the pope that he had no authority, no position. They had to run for their lives. In these democratic days, there is no need to run. So the papacy has lost its power partly because it can no longer murder, in effect.

In fact, the Roman religion would never have even taken off if it had not been for the Roman emperors and other European rulers who forced everyone to be 'Christians', or suffer the consequences. But in the ignorant, superstitious Middle Ages, people genuinely believed, without coercion, that 'the Church' was the genuine article. I don't think that anybody educated believes it now. The question is, why does anyone in developed countries stay with this terrible religion?

One reason is, _because_ it's terrible. There are always terrible people about, posing as good, and the RCC is one of the places they gather, because the RCC is ideal for them, based on control freakery and superficial goodness. You see them in 'Christian' forums on the internet, lying away nineteen to the dozen, protected by their 'moderators'. It's truly farcical, but they can't help themselves.

But also, people stay Catholic through social habit, and because of fear of doing anything else. It's an ingrained cultural thing, and there are few who want to upset family and friends. But many are leaving, despite these pressures. Even the less educated ones often don't believe in transubstantiation, thinking it a superstition. All of them see their popes saying one thing to the general public, quite another thing to them. They see their paederast priests farmed around by bishops, when the Vatican must know about it. They cease to believe the clergy, in practical matters like contraception, and theological ones like Mary's assumption into heaven, etc. And some read the Bible and discover that they have been conned.

Herr Ratzinger is talking about a downsized but faithful organisation. He has no option about the size, he's optimistic about the loyalty. Catholicism is losing members, fewer are becoming priests, and those who exist are less likely to want to keep the old rules of celibacy and believing in transubstantiation, etc. We'll see how it goes.
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Answer 3

As an atheist, I do not think it is. However, there is a willful devolution of power being done by the papacy that has been going on for about forty years. The papacy, in the Western Tradition, was never a very powerful institution. It was the Reformation that transfered significant power from the bishops to Rome. Following Vatican II, Rome has been trying to find ways to return power to the various authorities that historically had it. Power was centralized to create a concerted effort against Protestantism.

Protestantism is disintegrating, there are now 42,000 Protestant denominations. If people do nothing, it will become a meaningless force on its own. Rome isn't fighting Protestantism anymore, it is coopting it, making it irrelevant, just as it did with most of the pagan religions it came up against.

Protestants see this less than Eastern Christians do. The various Eastern Codes of Canon law make very clear the restrictions on papal authority. In the west it is more subtle. For example, when the US Catholic Conference proposed new rules to protect children from abuse, Rome rejected it on the grounds that neither the Conference nor Rome had the power or authority to impose those rules upon individual bishops who are sovereign in their diocese. The Conference had to come up with a new set of internal mechanisms to meet the requirements of diffuse power.

In many respects, this natural diffusion of power lead to the abuse in the first place. Contrary to the Rome power centered universe of the 19th century, power now predominantly sits with the bishops and in particular in the parish, much like baptists, but unlike baptists there is a hierarchy of appeal. In theory, there are checks and balances to the unjust or criminal use of power. The mechanisms were found to be very lacking in actual practice.

So Rome is not only reducing its power consciously, it is pushing that power into the laity under the supervision of priests and bishops.

Autonomous systems tend to be more resiliant and powerful than control systems, so my suspicion is that real power is being transferred to Rome by the very act of giving it away. Rome may have more real power today than it had 100 years ago.

Answer 4

Because secular politicians no longer think of religion as being the glue which holds society together. Consequently they are unlikely to pay much attention to the Vatican when they legislate. In fact they probably think that all the power they can get their hands on should belong to them, rather than somebody else..

Answer 5

I think it's because a lot of people are turning non religious because of the pressures of life,the majority of people struggle just to get by these days and have no time for anything else.

Its a shame really as religious people are usually the nicest politest people you could wish to meet and the decline in religeon is plain for all to see,just look around you,so many selfish and violent individuals about.

Answer 6

The Satanist CJ is masquerading as a Christian.

Answer 7

it lost it long ago but it is now making a fast comeback. Persecution is just around the corner as Antichrist gets rolling again

Answer 8

Liberals within the church itself for one.
To CJ & the other anti catholics, why do you put forward such outlandish drivel continually without one jot of evidence to back it up...
Fundamentalist atheists and fundamentalist Christians sure have one thing in common. A positive hatred for catholicism and much of it based on complete and utter continually re-hashed bile.

Answer 9

people are harder to brainwash in the 21centry thay are not taken in by the 2000yrs old con

Answer 10

because they are both pompous and no where near spiritual and people are becoming wise to that.

Answer 11

everyone has seen the light mate , religion probably the longest, and biggest confidence trick of all time ..............